Together Things: When her father feels sad, a little girl finds ways to keep the bonds of love alive

Sometimes, when mental health issues arise, a parent can’t play like they used to. In Together Things a girl faces conflicting feelings toward her depressed father, but her mother soon helps her realize they can do different things together to preserve their relationship while her dad tries to get better. Her mother says you can’t see her daddy’s hurt because it’s inside his head. One in five adults experiences depression in their lifetime, but young children are often left in the dark when their mother or father suddenly can’t play like they used to. Together Things will resonate with the thousands of young children who know what it’s like to live with a parent experiencing mental illness. It will help them to understand — in an age appropriate and sensitive way — that it is okay for them to feel mad or sad about their parent’s illness, but that, while their parent is getting better, they may have to do different things together to preserve their relationship, such as reading stories or drawing pictures, instead of the imaginative play their parent cannot currently envision through the haze of mental illness. Through wondrous illustrations and a compelling story, young children can understand the importance of mental health discussions and that sometimes they must adapt their interactions while the people in their lives focus on their mental health.